I came home from work to see a piece of metal sticking out from below the rhododendrons and my heart sank. I pulled it out and saw that it was a muffler, partially chewed. I’d had a long day at work and this was not what I wanted to deal with at the moment. But that’s what being a father is all about.
I found Lawrence in his room, lying on his bed. His eyes were red from crying and I felt so bad for him in that moment and so powerless. He’d been doing so well, I’d been so proud of him. I wasn’t mad, I just wanted to make everything better for him.
“Hey there,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.
He covered his face with his pillow, ashamed. “Dad, I did it again. I’m so sorry. I ate another car.”
“I know,” I said. “I saw the muffler. Come on, sit up.” He finally did and I gave him a hug, although inwardly I recoiled at the smell of motor oil on his breath. “What kind was it?” I asked.
“Does it matter?”
“I’m just curious.”
“It was Corolla,” he said finally, looking at the floor. “I was walking from the mall when I saw it there and, I don’t know, there was something about the look of the headlights that looked so inviting. The next thing I knew, I was chewing on the bumper. I should have given up then, but I knew I couldn’t hide the teeth marks and I was so ashamed and embarrassed, I just gave up and ate the whole thing.”
I gave him another hug. “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this phase. At least you’re off transport trucks, right? And you haven’t eaten a car in months. You’re doing really well.”
He looked up at me and my heart ached at the pain and confusion I saw in his eyes. “It’s just so hard,” he said. “I try, I really do.”
“I know,” I said. “Do you think it would help to get a couple old bicycles, or maybe a motorcycle now and then . . . ?” He looked down and shrugged.
I wanted to say more to comfort him but inwardly, I was dreading the upcoming battle: finding the owner, dealing with insurance companies, trying to explain the whole humiliating situation to unsympathetic insurance agents and police officers. Trying to make it all go away as quickly as possible and protect my boy as much as I could.
He was getting better, it was true, but for the first time, it occurred to me that maybe this was not a phase Lawrence would ever get through. Maybe he would struggle with eating cars his whole life. It was a scary thought, but I knew more than anything that I would love him, no matter what.
“Look,” I said slowly. “Your mother and I talked about this. I wasn’t sure about it before, but maybe I could talk to a scrap yard owner and see if you can go in there sometimes, if you get hungry. They’d be old cars, but it would be better than eating cars out of the parking lot while their owners are in shopping.”
Lawrence looked up and smiled. “You mean it? You’re not mad?”
“Well, this hasn’t been easy on any of us, but I love you and I’ll do what I can for you.”
My son eats cars. It’s not what I signed up for when I became a parent, but you don’t get to choose the challenges that come your way. Like everything else in life, we’ll take this one step at a time, together.
The Green-Walled Tower 
January 3rd, 2014 at 10:55 pm
Such a good daddy! I love this piece!
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:02 pm
It’s not easy being a dad, eh?
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:07 pm
we all have our own favorites! one who loves cars may not be fond of bicycles or motorbikes!
January 3rd, 2014 at 11:21 pm
brilliant story!
January 4th, 2014 at 12:01 am
Well spun.By the way, I read your blog for the first time today.You just made it a lot easier to keep my new year resolution of reading alive
January 4th, 2014 at 12:58 am
Haha! This is awesome. Perhaps he’s teething? Well, we all have our own addictions to deal with. That’s a good dad who tries to figure a way through it with compassion.
January 4th, 2014 at 1:31 am
This is so bizarre, and funny, and sad, and sweet.
Well done on writing a wonderfully confusing story 😀
January 4th, 2014 at 8:23 am
Thanks, :). I was wondering who would take it as hilarious or just bizarre or as a metaphor for something. I guess I was in a weird mood last night.
January 4th, 2014 at 8:39 am
Weird moods are the best moods for writing in my experience 😛
January 4th, 2014 at 1:39 am
That was cute. Now everybody go Ahhhhhh.
January 5th, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Ahh….
January 4th, 2014 at 7:14 am
Be careful if he changes his diet, and comes looking for you. 🙂
January 5th, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Teenagers just love to eat. 🙂
January 5th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Yes, their bellies are like bottomless pits. 🙂
January 5th, 2014 at 1:22 pm
I remember those days fondly. I can’t eat like that anymore.
January 6th, 2014 at 1:03 am
I think we all discover as we get older we can’t eat that much for the reason too that the weight comes on when we are less active, and is too hard to take off. 🙂
January 4th, 2014 at 10:32 am
A high iron diet – with some lubricants and plastics thrown in. Just make sure he stays away from magnets 🙂
January 5th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
Growing boys, they’ll eat anything, right?
January 6th, 2014 at 2:50 am
I take it that this is not what we would call the traditional family. Poor dad!
January 7th, 2014 at 8:35 pm
It’s definitely not something most people would have to deal with, although we all have our own struggles.
February 5th, 2014 at 3:13 pm
The poor family.. there was a person who ate car parts for Guinness records..